Postcards for sharing

richardhall

richardhall

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Richard
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Apologies in advance if a noob is retreading ground that's been done to death in the past...

Does anyone else print postcards of their photos?

I love zines, but they're quite a lot of work to put together. Postcards are easy, cheap and surprisingly useful. You can make a set, or just a one off. It's surprising how you can brighten someone's day with a handwritten note, and it will brighten yours when (if) they enjoy the picture you took.

The only downside is that economies of scale make it tempting to print more cards than you could possibly ever need - doing 500 isn't vastly more expensive than doing 100, but takes up quite a lot more space on the shelves!

If you're looking for a straightforward way to share your photographs with the world, I reckon that producing a postcard or two is not a bad place to start. And if anyone wants to swap postcards, drop me a message.
 
Over on another photography site we had a "design your own postcard" thread. Here's one of mine...

Exeter Postcard.jpg
 
Fairly certain @Ed Sutton flirts with postcards because I got a bonus one in his zine exchange...

Edit to add - I don't bother with them because I'd take forever choosing an image then end up with a billion of them cluttering the house up.
 
I have an older Canon Selphy printer that can print 6" x 4" postcards, I believe I still have a pack of the blanks and ink.
 
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tijuana taxi said:
I have an older Canon Selphy printer
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My wife found one of those at a John Lewis clearance several years ago. I just asked her and she's halfway through her first pack of paper.

...not a success :(
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
My wife found one of those at a John Lewis clearance several years ago. I just asked her and she's halfway through her first pack of paper.

...not a success :(
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I used it a few times, few passes for the different colours then the last one puts a coating on.
Can work out how old mine is because the first prints were of the Olympic torch going past the bottom of our road

What made it not a success?
 
Harlequin565 said:
Fairly certain @Ed Sutton flirts with postcards because I got a bonus one in his zine exchange...

Edit to add - I don't bother with them because I'd take forever choosing an image then end up with a billion of them cluttering the house up.
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I've made a few.

Moo (https://www.moo.com/uk/postcards) aren't the cheapest, but they let you do a set of postcards each with a different picture on them if you so wish.

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I'm another Selphy user and I use it almost purely for making individual and occasionally personalised postcards. The exceptions are prints I've made as gifts for the subjects.
 
I just used Moo for a postcard exchange on Rangefinderforum.com. As previously expressed, not cheap but the quality of the card and the image on it was outstanding.

I was stunned by the price of postage though o_O Used to be there was a lesser cost for postcards but now they count as letters. That cost would prevent me from sending them very often.

It is fun getting 36 different postcards from around the world though (22 received so far).
 
moggi1964 said:
I just used Moo for a postcard exchange on Rangefinderforum.com. As previously expressed, not cheap but the quality of the card and the image on it was outstanding.
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Moo's prices are a bit rich for my blood. Mixam suits my Yorkshire upbringing better. ;)
You're right that postage is expensive. It's an expensive process in terms of time, too -- queueing at the Post Office for stamps, writing something by hand, going to the post box. That's kind of why it means something when one arrives.
 
Harlequin565 said:
What is this thing of which you speak...?
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I know. It's a weird concept, but we used to do writing with strange stick-like objects to make marks on paper. Most of these marks were more or less permanent, so you had to think before you made them. And if you got a spelling wrong, the paper didn't tell you!
 
richardhall said:
I know. It's a weird concept, but we used to do writing with strange stick-like objects to make marks on paper. Most of these marks were more or less permanent, so you had to think before you made them. And if you got a spelling wrong, the paper didn't tell you!
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Some of us still get GAS for writing implements. :D
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richardhall said:
Do the similarly GAS-afflicted gather to discuss the quality of their writing?
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Having looked on Youtube for pen reviews I suspect they probably do. But I choose my pens the way I choose my cameras - for their practical properties. I can live with a slightly blunt nib like I can live with a less than tack sharp lens. :LOL:
 
This thread has reminded me that back in the mists of time I used to indulge in postcard and mail art. That was handmade cards or plain postcards made into 'art' rather than photographs. There was never much plan there were just a few of us would make something and post it to someone else. Most were ephemeral but I still have a couple somewhere.
 
Writing instrument, yeah I have one of those (needs a clean though :giggle: )

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I bought a 2nd hand selphy for £5 - it worked great as long as I connected it to my old Vista laptop - I couldn't get the drivers for my Mac. I ended up giving it away with all the paper.

richardhall said:
Do the similarly GAS-afflicted gather to discuss the quality of their writing?
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There is a fountain pen forum where people like to discuss their nibs and ink flow :) There is quite a good second hand market in vintage quality pens.

Ed Sutton said:
Some of us still get GAS for writing implements. :D
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I do love my fountain pens, but I stick with what I have these days. They can make a handy (forgive the pun) subject too.

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This is somewhat off-topic (most of my posts are :): but I received one of those ’created online but physically posted‘ postcards the other day. The image wasn’t particularly good quality but I haven’t seen the original and it was just a family snap from a ‘non-photographer’ so content was more important. That caused me to look at the various services and those I found didn’t seem very impressive. No indication of the final quality of the print and no provision for a handwritten note (could be done by another image) nor variation of font. I ended up ‘returning the favour’ via the one offered by the Australian postal service (as it was to Au) which was cheap but very ‘clunky’ and I have no idea what the final result was like.
 
Bebop said:
I bought a 2nd hand selphy for £5 - it worked great as long as I connected it to my old Vista laptop - I couldn't get the drivers for my Mac. I ended up giving it away with all the paper.


There is a fountain pen forum where people like to discuss their nibs and ink flow :) There is quite a good second hand market in vintage quality pens.


I do love my fountain pens, but I stick with what I have these days. They can make a handy (forgive the pun) subject too.

View attachment 300910
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Fountain pens are like film cameras to me. Obsolete. :exit:
 
sphexx said:
This is somewhat off-topic (most of my posts are :): but I received one of those ’created online but physically posted‘ postcards the other day.
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Do people get anxious about threads going off topic around here? (I'm new, so it's a genuine question)

I wouldn't use an 'internet to physical post' thing routinely, but they can be really useful. A couple of years ago I was in Rwanda, and wanted to stay in touch with a friend who was about to end her days in a hospice in Britain. Being able to send a physical card daily gave us both a lot of comfort.
 
richardhall said:
Do people get anxious about threads going off topic around here? (I'm new, so it's a genuine question)
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Not really and it usually happens sooner rather than later!
 
richardhall said:
Do people get anxious about threads going off topic around here? (I'm new, so it's a genuine question)
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Not usually :).
I wouldn't use an 'internet to physical post' thing routinely, but they can be really useful. A couple of years ago I was in Rwanda, and wanted to stay in touch with a friend who was about to end her days in a hospice in Britain. Being able to send a physical card daily gave us both a lot of comfort.
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Yes, I’ve used https://www.pc2paper.co.uk/ for sending ordinary letters since COVID and it is arguably cheaper than driving to get stamps and post letters, subject to circumstances. (Now that is really OT :)).
 
richardhall said:
Off topic or not, that's a service I haven't heard of before and I can certainly think of rimes it would have been useful.
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There are several but that seemed the best to me when I particularly needed back in March. You have to give them a minimum of a fiver up front and then they dock each letter so not so good for a one-off.
 
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